California bans ‘sell by’ food labels

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A new California law went into effect Wednesday that bans “sell by” food labels as part of a statewide effort to cut down on food waste.

Food manufacturers now must use one or both of two labels that indicate peak quality and product safety, indicated by “Best if Used By” and “Use By,” respectively.

“Using clear, consistent date labels will help reduce confusion about when food is safe to eat, cut down on unnecessary food waste, and make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions,” California state Assembly member Jacqui Irwin (D), author of the new law, said on the social platform X on Monday.

Irwin added that the law will result in a “simple change with meaningful benefits for families, businesses, and the environment.”

Food labels became the common method for classifying a product’s freshness to consumers decades ago, but there is still no national standard for the language used for these labels, Emily Broad Leib, clinical professor of law and director of the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, told the Los Angeles Times.

“Over time, a large majority of consumers interpreted those as safety dates, and so we have this real mismatch,” Broad Leib said.

The information on these labels is unregulated and typically does not relate to food safety.

“Consumers get confused and they just default to assuming that whatever date is on the package means ‘don’t eat it and throw it away’,” Kumar Chandran, policy director at ReFED, a nonprofit focused on cutting down on food waste, said.

The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery found that 2.5 billion meals worth of unspoiled food are thrown out every year. This contributes to the food waste that makes up almost half of what Californians send to landfills.

California became the first state to standardize food labels in 2024, when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it into law. Bills with their own approach to food labeling have been proposed across several states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Illinois and New Jersey. None of the bills have passed.

A similar law passed through the state legislature in New York and awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) signature to become law.

The Associated Press contributed.

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